Among domestic chores, cleaning windows remains an awkward manual operation which, until recently, has essentially been performed by using means such as water mixed with certain cleaning liquids or powders together with mechanical action performed by the user to unstick dirt and remove it with the help of rags or shammy leather.
Cleaning sprays have also been developed and sold to simplify or facilitate said cleaning operation.
Nevertheless, the cleaning substances used often leave a greasy film on the glass, thereby accelerating adhesion of dust on newly cleaned windows so they need to be cleaned again soon.
In industrial window cleaning, the process is basically identical, even if the skillful use of large squeegees achieves a considerable saving in time.
With the arrival of steam cleaners on the domestic market, a first steam cleaning technique for windows has been made available to households.
Steam cleaning is based on producing steam in a boiler which is heavy and which therefore remains on the ground and takes a long time to heat up, in directing the steam through a series of accessories and plastics tubes to a window squeegee, in condensing it on the windowpanes, thereby imparting a considerable amount of beat to the dust to unstick it from the glass, in using a squeegee to move the dust-laden condensed water over the glass, and in removing it from the window by wiping it off with a rag.
Such apparatus makes it possible to avoid using a cleaning substance, does not leave a film of grease on the glass or other smooth surface to be cleaned, and requires less mechanical work to detach dust.
Nevertheless, existing apparatuses present considerable drawbacks. In particular, systems for producing steam in a boiler lead to an installation that is relatively expensive, complex, and bulky, and which above all is not free from potential danger given the pressure level that obtains inside such a boiler. Such installations take a long time to put into operation given the time required for raising steam, and they cannot reach the uppermost portions of windows which are too far away from the steam-producing boiler that remains on the ground, and in any event the steam tends to expand, cool, and condense in the pipes connecting the boiler to the accessory for applying the steam. Existing apparatuses are particularly unsuitable for cleaning windows in locations that are difficult of access, e.g. on isolated motor vehicles far away from buildings.